Taiwanese Horng Ryen Jen sandwiches were contaminated before they arrived in Hong Kong, says health department
Sandwiches were sold across wide range of outlets in city, yet lab findings indicate common source Salmonella food poisoning
The 33 men and 55 women, including a 79-year-old and a child aged one, developed food poisoning symptoms after eating the products late last month. They had been bought from a number of outlets across Hong Kong including City’super in Harbour City, a restaurant in Yuen Long and an exhibition booth in Lok Fu Plaza. They imported the sandwiches from Gourmet Chef International Limited and SC Corporation.
Some 13 of the victims were admitted to various hospitals for treatment.
Out of 16 tests for Salmonella, 12 came back positive and among those the bacteria in nine contained the same genotyping patterns, authorities said.
READ MORE: Hong Kong bans Taiwanese Horng Ryen Jen sandwiches after 46 people fall sick in food safety scare
“As the sandwiches were prepackaged food, imported by different importers and the affected persons purchased them via different channels … the site of bacterial contamination is likely to have occurred before entering Hong Kong,” the Department of Health said in a statement.
“The epidemiological and laboratory findings have so far suggested a common-source Salmonella food poisoning outbreak caused by the same brand of sandwiches.”
The department added “prolonged” and “improper” storage of the sandwiches may have helped the bacteria to grow and worsen the level of contamination.
The Centre for Food Safety had passed its counterpart in Taiwan the latest information to assist their investigation.
